Why Blogs Won’t Replace Press Releases – or Publicists

Steve Rubel recently wrote “Blogs are the New Press Releases.” He’s a great guy, and very knowledgeable, but he’s wrong. Traditional and new media journalists – bloggers — want scoops. It’s scoops that help differentiate one writer from another. No self-respecting journalist wants to get the same story everyone and her dog also got. Press releases — and blog posts — by their very nature, go to everyone at once.
Blogs, like press releases, are just tools in the marketing arsenal. They’re not going to replace pitch letters, phone calls, briefings or personal relationships.
What’s dead — and good riddance — as I wrote in 2000, is the traditional press release It went the way of the buggy whip when journalists started reading them on their computer screens. The best alternative then, and the best one now is personal contact.
Blogs are one of the best mediums yet for background, opinion, illustration, positioning and explanation. But they are not the end all and the be-all of communication and I’m getting pretty sick of reading all the hype about them.

Comments

The PR segment of the blogosphere has been having a field day with Steve Rubel’s assertion that blogs and RSS will eventually supplant the press release. Echoing Mark Twain, some posters have referred to his comments as the premature declaration

The PR segment of the blogosphere has been having a field day with Steve Rubel’s assertion that blogs and RSS will eventually supplant the press release. Echoing Mark Twain, some posters have referred to his comments as the premature declaration

The PR segment of the blogosphere has been having a field day with Steve Rubel’s assertion that blogs and RSS will eventually supplant the press release. Echoing Mark Twain, some posters have referred to his comments as the premature declaration

Hallelujah! I completely agree… like the dot com frenzy, not EVERYONE should have a blog and they are utterly overhyped. One tool out of many in the communications grab bag and nothing will replace personal contact.